FILE - In this May 19, 2018 file photo, actress Asia Argento gestures during the closing ceremony of the 71st international film festival in Cannes, France. Argento, one of the most prominent activists of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, recently settled a complaint filed against her by a young actor and musician who said she sexually assaulted him when he was 17, the New York Times reported. (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, FIle)

#MeToo Activist Asia Argento Settled Sex Assault Complaint

NEW YORK (AP) — Italian actress Asia Argento — one of the most prominent activists of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment — recently settled a complaint filed against her by a young actor and musician who said she sexually assaulted him when he was 17, the New York Times reported.

Argento, 42, settled the notice of intent to sue filed by Jimmy Bennett, who is now 22, for $380,000 shortly after she said last October that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her, the Times reported.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Darren Harris said in a statement Monday that no police report was filed at the time, but after the Times report department investigators will seek to talk to Bennett or his representatives about the alleged incident.

Argento and Bennett co-starred in a 2004 film called "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" in which Argento played Bennett's prostitute mother.

Bennett says in the notice that he had sex with Argento in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, California, in 2013. The age of consent in California is 18.

The notice says the encounter traumatized Bennett and hurt his career, the Times reported.

The newspaper said it received court documents that included a selfie of Argento and Bennett in bed. Three people familiar with the case said the documents were authentic, the Times reported.

In a statement to The Associated Press on Monday, a lawyer for Bennett said the actor "does not wish to comment on the documents or the events" at this time.

The statement asked for privacy and noted that Bennett would take "the next 24 hours, or longer, to prepare his response."

Argento became one of the most well-known activists of the #MeToo movement after she told the New Yorker magazine that Weinstein raped her at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 when she was 21. Argento told the magazine that she continued to have a relationship with Weinstein because she was afraid of angering him.

Weinstein has been indicted on sex crime accusations involving three women, but not including Argento.

Representatives for Argento did not respond to a request from The Associated Press for comment.

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This story has been clarified to say that Jimmy Bennett filed a notice of intent to sue.